SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State Basketball continues its 125th season on Wednesday, November 13 as they travel to #4 Louisville with tip-off set for 8:10 p.m. (ET) from the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. The game will be televised live nationally on the ACC Network as well as ESPN+. The game will also be broadcast on WIBQ 97.9 FM as well as streamed (audio) on GoSycamores.com.
QUICK HITS
Indiana State has hit at least one 3-pointer in every game since December 20, 2008 against DePauw -- a span of 344 contests, which is the third-longest active streak in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Greg Lansing is just the sixth head coach in the history of the program to record at least 100 victories at the helm of the Sycamores as he owns 148. His career win total is second-best at ISU (and his 80 MVC wins is the most in the history of the program). He also owns the school record with five wins over nationally-ranked teams.
Indiana State is looking for their first win over a nationally-ranked team since an 72-71 win over No. 15 Butler on December 7, 2016 inside Hulman Center. ISU last beat a ranked team on the road on November 17, 2013 when they won at No. 21 Notre Dame by the score of 83-70.
A Win Over Louisville Would ...
• Snap a four-game losing streak against the Cardinals and be the first win over the program since December 4, 1948
• Be the highest nationally-ranked team to ever fall to Indiana State -- topping No. 5 Arkansas in the 1979 NCAA Tournament on March 17, 1979. That win sent the Sycamores to the NCAA FInal Four.
• Be the Sycamores' first win over a current member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since an 83-70 win on November 17, 2013 at No. 21 Notre Dame.
• Improve the Sycamores to 6-12 against the current membership of the ACC.
The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing (South Dakota, 1990) is 148-143 (.509) overall in his tenth season as a head coach. He is 80-82 all-time in MVC games, including a 54-27 mark at home and a 26-55 record on the road. During his career, he is 88-40 in all home games, 42-78 on the road, 19-24 in neutral court contests and 50-38 in games decided by five points or less. With the Trees, Lansing is 12-14 in overtime games and 94-10 when holding teams to 63 points or less. This is Lansing's first meeting with the Louisville. Lansing led the Sycamores to the postseason in each of his first four seasons at the helm (2011 NCAA, 2012 CIT, 2013 & 2014 NIT). Lansing is the second head coach to lead the Sycamores to the NCAA Tournament in their rookie campaign in the history of the program, with the other being Bill Hodges leading ISU to a 33-1 record and a Final Four appearance in the 1979 NCAA Tournament. Lansing was just the 14th rookie head coach in the history of the MVC to lead his team to 20 victories during their debut season. Lansing holds the school record for most victories over a nationally-ranked team (five) in the history of the program. Lansing is currently second on the Indiana State all-time coaching victories list with 148. His 80 MVC victories are a school record.
A Little History
Indiana State is in its 125th season of college basketball at the school. The Sycamores are 1,496-1,310 all-time on the hardwood. ISU only needs four more victories to achieve their historic 1,500 win in the history of the program.
Television Particulars
Indiana State's road game at Louisville will be televised nationally on the ACC Network and streamed live on ESPN+.
Key Paces Sycamores In Season Opener At Dayton Despite Early Foul Trouble
Indiana State junior Tyreke Key overcame a slow start in which he just played three minutes in the first half due to early foul trouble to take over the in the second half and nearly lead the Sycamores to a season-opening victory in front of a sell-out crowd at Dayton. Key led the team with 21 points in 23 minutes of action as he went 4-of-8 from the field, hit a key late-game 3-pointer and was 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Key added four rebounds with a pair of assists in the narrow defeat. His 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining off the assist from Barnes set up the chance for the Sycamores to have two good looks to tie in the waning seconds of the game.
Jake Is All The Freshman La"Rav"ia
Indiana State freshman Jake LaRavia tallied eight points and pulled down six rebounds at Dayton in the season opener. He finished the game also with a pair of steals as well as a blocked shot in 30 minutes of action. Most of LaRavia's damage was done late in the first half as the Sycamores closed the gap on the Flyers and set up the exciting second half.
Tyreke Key Named To All-MVC Second Team, Selected Valley's Most Improved Player
Indiana State sophomore Tyreke Key became just the fourth Sycamore in the history of the program to lead the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring as he did it this year with 538 points scored -- an average of 17.4 points per game. He joins Larry Bird, John Sherman Williams and David Moss as the only players in the history of the program to accomplish the feat. For his efforts he was named to the All-MVC Second Team and was named the Team Captain of the MVC's Most Improved Team. He was named to the MVC All-Freshman in 2017-18. Key is a preseason First Team All-MVC Pick in 2019. This marked the second consecutive season in which a Sycamore earned the Valley's Most Improved Award -- as Jordan Barnes did it in 2017-18. His 44.8 percent mark from 3-point range ranked third in the league and his 34.3 minutes played was tops in the conference. In MVC only games, Key averaged 17.5 points per game which was third-best while his 79.6 percent mark from the free throw line was 3rd. He played 34.6 minutes per game which was third-most in the league. He scored a career-high 32 points in the road overtime victory over Valparaiso and hit four 3-pointers in the dominating home win on February 20 against Illinois State. Key recorded 27 double digit scoring games this year and went over the 20-point mark 11 times and the 30-point standard once. Key's 17.4 points per game was up from his 8.3 ppg average as a freshman.
Jordan Barnes Up To No. 3 On ISU 3-Pointers Made List, Reaches 1,000 Point Mark
Indiana State senior Jordan Barnes scored 19 points in the season opener at Dayton to give him 1,199 for his career – and make him the active career scoring leader at Indiana State. Barnes connected on a trio of 3-pointers to give him 218 for his career and he is now in sole possession of third place on the Sycamore Basketball career 3-point chart. He passed current NBA official and 2000 MVC Player of the Year Nate Green on Saturday night at Dayton is tied for 21st place with Bob Barker who also scored 1,199 career points. As a sophomore in 2017-18, Barnes hit a school-record 117 3-pointers which was third-best nationally and the fourth-highest in the history of the league (MVC record for most ever by a sophomore). He hit the 1,000 point mark in his 77th career game -- the fourth-fastest to reach the mark in program history. Larry Bird owns the school record hitting the 1,000 point milestone in just 31 career games.
Sycamores Facing Former Member of Missouri Valley Conference
The Sycamores will take on No. 5 nationally-ranked Louisville on Wednesday, November 13 looking for their first victory over the Cardinals since December 4, 1948 when the Sycamores won 66-64 in Louisville. The Cardinals have won each of the last four meetings, with the last matchup coming in 2008. Louisville was a member of the MVC from 1963 until 1974 and former head coach Denny Crum was inducted into the MVC Hall of Fame in 2012.
Greg Lansing Second On ISU Wins List With 148
Greg Lansing is just the sixth head coach in the history of the program to record at least 100 victories at the helm of the Sycamores as he owns 148. With the Sycamores win on November 14, 2018 at Green Bay, he passed his mentor Royce Waltman for No. 2 on the Indiana State all-time coaching wins chart. In 2018, with the Sycamores' victory at home over Illinois State, he earned his 73rd career MVC victory which is a school record. Coach Lansing now only trails Duane Klueh who owns the school record with 182 career victories. He currently holds the school record with 80 all-time MVC regular season victories.
63 Is The Magic Number
The Sycamores win by the score of 71-54 on March 2, 2019 against Northern Iowa was ISU's ninth last season in which they held an opponent to 63 points or less and earned the victory. Under 10th-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 94-10 when allowing less than 63 points to the opposition (including a 21-0 mark when holding teams to 53 or less).
Good Starter On The Battery
Indiana State's starting five outscored the opposition's top five 12 times last season and earned the win. They did it for the first time in 2018-19 in the road victory over Green Bay and again against McKendree, San Jose State, Wright State, Truman State, Colorado, UNLV, Evansville, Valparaiso, Illinois State and Northern Iowa. Under 10th-year head coach Greg Lansing, the Sycamores are 97-28 when the ISU starting five scores more than their opponent's starters.
Indiana State With A Pair Of Top 10 Career Scorers In Their Respective High School States
A pair of Indiana State players in Tyreke Key and Cooper Neese are in the Top 10 in career scoring in both of their respective home states. Key finished his career at Clay County High School in Celina, Tenn., with 3,287 points scored which is 10th most in the history of the state of Tennessee. As a senior, he set the Tennessee High School record for most points scored in a season, breaking a 25-year old record held previously by Kentucky legend Tony Delk. Cooper Neese, who will sit out the 2017-18 season serving his year-in-residence as a transfer, enters his Indiana State career having scored 2,496 career points at nearby Cloverdale High School which is seventh-best in the Indiana High School Basketball history.
Sycamores Tally School Record Fifth Victory Over Nationally-Ranked Team Under Lansing
Indiana State ended a skid of nine losses to nationally-ranked teams when No. 15/16 Butler fell inside Hulman Center on December 7, 2017 by the score of 72-71. Coach Lansing has led the Sycamores to a school-record five victories against nationally-ranked teams during his time at the helm of the program. He passed Bill Hodges (head coach of the Dream Team in 1978-79) and Royce Waltman (head coach of the Sycamores during back-to-back NCAA Tourney trips in 2000 & 2001) for the most in program history with the win over Butler. It was just the second victory for the Sycamores under Lansing at home against a nationally-ranked team and the first overall since a win at No. 21 Notre Dame in 2013.
Greg Lansing Inducted Into Iowa High School Basketball Hall Of Fame
Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Basketball Hall of Fame as part of their 2016 class. Lansing and the other selected inductees were honored individually at halftime of the Iowa Class 4A State Championship Game at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on March 12. The IHSAA Basketball Hall of Fame is the highest honor the Iowa High School Board of Control can bestow on a high school coach or former player. Lansing graduated from Harlan High School in 1986, where he was coached by his father Dave, who was inducted into the IHSAA Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999 as a coach. The Lansing father/son combination of Dave and Greg are just the 10th father/son duo to both be inducted into the Hall of Fame since 1969.
Up Next
The Sycamores will travel to Indianapolis, Ind., to take on in-state rival Ball State at Bankers Life FIeldhouse -- the home of the Indiana Pacers. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. (ET) and will be televised live world-wide on ESPN3.
